A FAB new Middle-Grade up for grabs!!!

Hi y'all!!! I'm back from a little vaca with my mom and sisters eating and gabbing and partying and eating and gabbing and eating and swimming and shopping and eating and . . . I have a great new contest that you absolutely must enter!

Go to Barbara O'Connor's blog Greetings from Nowhere to enter the contest she's having for her brand new novel, THE SMALL ADVENTURE OF POPEYE AND ELVIS (FSG) which is coming out September 15th!!!

I ADORE all of Barb's books and I OWN them all and they are ALL autographed! How lucky am I??? Well, pretty darn lucky.

If you haven't read Miss Barbara's books before - now is an excellent time to do so. Her books have been on dozens and dozens of state reader's choice lists, she regularly gets starred reviews, she wins all those Parent Choice Awards, and her books are wonderful and poignant and heartwarming and REAL.

Searching for a Good Middle Grade Novel

I write both Middle Grade and Young Adult - I ADORE both genres and read widely and eclectically (yes, I made up that word ending!)

Young Adult has been absolutely EPIC the last five years. So many titles, so many new twists on the various genres, so many adored authors and humongous advances and buzz and new readers and book tours and publicity tours via Publishers. I love it! It bring so much attention to the Children's Lit world.

Middle Grade Fiction has taken a *back seat* to all the great YA out there, BUT that is about to CHANGE. For the past year or two publishers have been asking and searching to acquire Middle-grade and I'm really pleased that my MG, The Healing Spell, which took 5 years to sell (perhaps due to the YA adoration) will be coming out next year. I've also heard about many other MG's coming out next year, too, like pixiechick_sw and angie_frazier


So my question is this:

I haven't read many Middle-Grade novels in a long time and I'm salivating for one to read. I've checked out the Newbery Buzz books, but am hearing lots of pros/cons and hate to invest the mulah (I've bought so many YA's I'm broke) and for some reason my public library system has very few of them. What's on their shelves you ask??? YA Fantasy, Vampire, Demon, Fairy and the like.

NO Middle Grade.

Give me some titles and opinions people!!!

Thank you. Happy Weekend!

Happy 4th of July

I love this country. I love what we stand for, our brilliant founding Fathers, our freedoms, this land of opportunity, the wonderful people, and our country's stunning beauty. I feel so blessed and thankful and proud.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday of peace and family and love.

Let Freedom Ring!!!!!!